Professional Communications

This course introduces students to the use of a PC. Through hands-on practice, students will manage files, communicate using e-mail, and use the Internet, word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software. Students must use the version of Microsoft Office software in use at Gateway Technical College. Basic keyboarding skills are recommended.

This course is designed for learners to develop knowledge and skills in all aspects of the writing process. Planning, organizing, writing, editing and revising are applied through a variety of activities. Students will analyze audience and purpose, use elements of research, and format documents using standard guidelines. Individuals will develop critical reading skills through analysis of various written documents.

In this course, students explore the Gateway Technical College community. They examine college resources and services, investigate skills that lead to academic success, and identify strategies for achieving educational and personal goals.

In this course, students explore the research methods that professional communicators use to find information about their clients, audiences, and subject matter. They use interviews, surveys, experiments, and usability tests to gather information from primary sources, and they use the library and Internet to gather information from secondary sources. They interpret qualitative and quantitative research and incorporate the findings into plans and their writing. Upon completing the course, students will be able to demonstrate professional research methods and the use of research in their writing.

In this course, students explore options for publishing print and digital publications. When working with print publications, they identify their responsibilities to commercial printers, differentiate types of printing, follow print-industry practices, and employ strategies to ensure quality print jobs. When working with digital publications, they optimize files for online distribution, integrate features for a satisfying user experience, and distribute files following professional practices. Students use publishing software, such as Adobe Acrobat software. Upon completing the course, students will be able to print documents in collaboration with commercial printers and to produce digital publications.

In this course, students design documents by combining colors, images, layouts, lists, tables, and typefaces. They explore graphic design, technical communication, typography, and user experience theories about document design and the impact of design on audiences. Applying these theories, they use publishing tools, such as Adobe InDesign software and a website builder, to create print and web designs. Upon completing the course, students will be able to design single-page and multi-page documents consistent with the studied theories.

In this course, students produce edits that meet the needs of authors, clients, and audiences. They apply editing strategies, use editing tools, and follow best practices to identify corrections, changes, and suggestions for authors. Following a style guide, they edit a document's content, parts, design, language, markup, permissions, and sentence skills. Upon completing the course, students will be able to prepare comprehensive edits, copyedits, and proofs that improve publications.

This course is intended to develop analytic reasoning and the ability to solve quantitative problems. Topics to be covered may include: construction & interpretation of graphs; descriptive statistics; geometry & spatial visualizations; math of finance; functions and modeling; probability; and logic. Appropriate use of units and dimensions, estimates, mathematical notation, and available technology will be emphasized throughout the course.

The student will prepare and present oral and written technical reports. Types of reports may include lab and field reports, proposals, technical letters and memos, technical research reports, and case studies. This course is designed as an advanced communication course for students who have completed at least the prerequisite introductory writing course.

In this course, students create news stories for digital, print, and audiovisual media outlets. Students research and plan story assignments, and then they find content for the stories using primary and secondary sources. They write the stories, applying journalistic strategies to ensure newsworthiness, objectivity, accuracy, and fairness. After incorporating edits into their stories, they assemble the stories with images into a final publication. Upon completing the course, students will be able to create stories publishable in newsletters and at media outlets.

This course explores the use of digital photography, desktop scanning and photo manipulation software in the creation of photo compositions and support materials for graphic design.

Race, Ethnic, and Diversity Studies is a course that draws from several disciplines to reaffirm the basic American values of justice and equality by teaching a basic vocabulary, a basic history of immigration and conquest, principles of transcultural communication, legal liability, and the value of aesthetic production to increase the probability of respectful encounters among people. In addition to an analysis of majority/minority relations in a multicultural context, the topics of ageism, sexism, gender differences, sexual orientation, people with disabilities, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are explored. Ethnic relations are studied in global and comparative perspectives.

Please complete: 699-137 Writing Product Documentation OR 699-139 Writing Copy and Proposals This is for informational purposes only. Once you register for your course, you can delete this block from your timeline.

In this course, students explore and use the skills and tools needed to analyze, design, develop, implement, and evaluate communication projects. They examine and apply skills and tools for researching requirements, planning projects, tracking progress, managing change, publishing communications, and evaluating quality. In addition, they explore strategies to work effectively and ethically with clients, coworkers, and vendors. Upon completing the course, students will be able to define and manage communication projects at expected quality levels, budgets, and deadlines.

Students will use Vector Illustration software for technical drawing, composition and implementation of created art into print, web and social media. Students will incorporate traditional drawing skills and scanning methods into their digital illustration and drawings. Composition, digital color specification and current graphic design trends will be emphasized.

In this course, students prepare for a communications career or higher education. They reflect on their progress throughout their Gateway studies, and they develop portfolios for their future careers or education following best practices in the communications field. They explore career resources, job hunting strategies, potential employers, and four-year colleges. Upon completing the course, students will be able to present a portfolio of their work that helps them with their career and education goals.

Please complete: 699-138 Writing Software User Assistance OR 699-140 Writing for Public Relations This is for informational purposes only. Once you register for your course, you can delete this block from your timeline.

In this course, students explore and use social media to develop a presence for an organization. They set up presences and engage audiences on blogs, microblogs, networking sites, collaborative communities, and content-sharing sites. While on social media, they apply best practices on each site, use technology to develop images and multimedia, and share content to attract and engage followers. Students measure their influence and progress toward objectives. Upon completing the course, students will be able to show a social media presence on multiple sites, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Please complete 801-196 Oral/Interpersonal Communication or 801-198 Speech. This is for informational purposes only. Once you register for your course, you can delete this block from your timeline.

In this course, students apply their communications skills and knowledge in a professional setting. They spend a minimum of 144 hours performing communications tasks, and they consult for up to one hour per week with the instructor. They work with a sponsor at a local business, government agency, or not-for-profit organization to set up and complete an internship. Upon completing the course, students will be able to describe a professional work experience to future employers, present a sponsor's feedback, and share communication samples.

This course introduces students to some of the major theories and topics of psychology, including the physiological basis of behavior, personality and learning theories, memory, states of consciousness, stress, research methods, intelligence, human development, psychopathology, and social behavior.

In this course, students create user assistance (UA) for software products. They apply information architecture, plain language, and user experience strategies to design and create conceptual, reference, and task topics for the UA. They research, write, link, and revise topics for the UA. They conduct usability tests to ensure accessible and usable UA, and they build the UA for multiple outputs using professional tools, such as MadCap Flare software. Upon completing the course, students will be able to deliver UA that helps an organization's users learn and use its software products.